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[[quoteright:305:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jim-carrey.jpg]]

->"''Alrighty then!''"
-->-- '''AceVentura'''

->"''Somebody stop me!''"
-->-- '''Film/TheMask'''

James Eugene "Jim" Carrey (born 1962) is a colorful actor with a face for molding and often plays the central or main character in a show. He had been acting since the mid-1980s, most notably in the short-lived sitcom ''The Duck Factory'', but came to attention as a TokenWhite cast member on ''Series/InLivingColor'' who managed to hold his own with several popular sketch characters, most famously Fire Marshall Bill.

When the small-scale ''[[AceVentura Ace Ventura - Pet Detective]]'' arrived on movie screens in early 1994, it was roasted by critics but proved to be a surprisingly big hit. As it happened, he did two other films that year (''Film/TheMask'' and ''{{Dumb and Dumber}}'') and was soon an A-list performer, in essence the first big film comedy star of the 1990s. He has played many classic characters, and his involvement in a movie will often be a success - so successful, the subsequent films and series usually don't do as well because he is not in it.

Starting with ''Film/TheTrumanShow'', he has successfully made the transition to more serious films, with ''EternalSunshineOfTheSpotlessMind'' probably his most lauded serious role. It hasn't stopped him from appearing in goofy comedy as well, though, and nowadays he's well respected both aspects of his acting range. While not as popular as he was at his height in TheNineties, his career has proven surprisingly durable.

In his early days performing stand-up comedy, Carrey reportedly wrote himself a check for almost $1,000,000 and promised himself that he would, one day, be able to cash it. That promise was fulfilled soon after his performance in ''Film/TheMask'' and ''{{Dumb and Dumber}}'', though by that point, he had already earned several orders of magnitude more than the check itself was worth. When his father died, he put the check he wrote to himself in his father's casket.
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!![[AC:Roles of Note:]] 
* Ace Ventura - ''AceVentura'' series (First and second films of franchise - a rarity; apparently he was so unhappy with the experience of playing the same character twice he decided to never again star in a sequel film. Though he seems to be willing to make an exception for a Dumb and dumber sequel and it's rumored he might do one for Bruce Almighty too which he had previously turned down.)
* Stanley Ipkiss/The Mask - ''Film/TheMask'' (First film of franchise)
* Lloyd Christmas - ''DumbAndDumber'' (First film of franchise)
* Edward Nygma/The Riddler - ''Film/BatmanForever'' (Third film of franchise)
* Chip Douglas - ''TheCableGuy''
* Fletcher Reede - ''Film/LiarLiar''
* Truman Burbank - ''Film/TheTrumanShow'' (won the Golden Globe for Best Actor- Drama)
* AndyKaufman/[[AlterEgoActing Tony Clifton]] - ''ManOnTheMoon'' (won the Golden Globe for Best Actor- Comedy)
* Charlie and Hank - ''MeMyselfAndIrene''
* The Grinch - ''Film/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas''
* Peter Appleton - ''TheMajestic'' (Notable in that it was his first truly against-type role, though Truman and Kaufman hinted towards it.)
* Bruce Nolan - ''BruceAlmighty'' (First film of franchise)
* Joel Barish - ''EternalSunshineOfTheSpotlessMind''
* Count Olaf - ''Lemony Snicket's ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents''
* Walter Sparrow - ''The Number 23''
* Horton - ''HortonHearsAWho!''
* Ebenezer Scrooge '''[[LoadsAndLoadsOfRoles and]]''' the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come (all via MotionCapture) - ''Film/AChristmasCarol2009'' (2009)
* Steven Russell - ''ILoveYouPhillipMorris''
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!![[AC:Tropes:]]
* AdamWesting and SelfDeprecation: He's often poked fun at his goofy/LargeHam reputation.
** From ''Batman Forever'': "Was that over the top? I can never tell!"
** In his first ''SaturdayNightLive'' appearance (1996), the ''Joe Pesci Show'' skit he appeared in had him playing Jimmy Stewart...while another performer played Jim Carrey. "Stewart" is appalled by "Carrey" ("Smoke a lot of dope, do you son?") and mocks him as a diva who "needs attention twenty-four hours a day!"
--->'''"Jimmy Stewart"''': Hello, I'm Jim Carrey! I'll do ANYTHING for a laugh! I require attention twenty-four hours a day! LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME!
** When he presented an Oscar in 1997, he envisioned himself being used in [[Main/TheDeadRiseToAdvertise commercials after his death]], making fun of a then-current Trident slogan: "Who wants gum? (turns around and starts talking out of his butt) I do! I do!"
** When he didn't get an Oscar nomination for ''The Truman Show'', he still agreed to present an award. He pretended to break down into self-pitying tears during his intro. He was asked to participate in a gag the following year during Billy Crystal's opening film montage segment to poke fun at not being nominated for ''Man on the Moon'', but declined.
** In ''Liar Liar'', there's a scene where Carrey's five-year-old son has discovered that his father can't lie, and is asking Carrey if various parenting cliches are true. The last one is:
-->'''Max:''' If I keep making this face ''(makes a face)'' will it get stuck that way?
-->'''Fletcher:''' Not in a million years. In fact, some people make a good living that way.
*** During the bloopers the person (Swoosey Kurtz) he's trading insults with screams "Overactor!". He laughs and says "Oh no. They're on to me." after playfully "choking" her. 
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7StsXTQhYs This clip]] from ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is ostensibly from a {{Biopic}} with Carrey playing Conan (this was when ''ManOnTheMoon'' was new), and Carrey!Conan acts as if he holds a grudge against the actor. At the three-minute mark, Carrey!Conan makes fun of the facial contortions and catchphrases of Ace Ventura and The Mask. 
** From his own website:
--> ''Oh great and powerful creator, how can I distinguish myself from other actors? [[{{beat}} ....]]talk out of my what?''
* BlackComedy - ''The Cable Guy'', in which his character turns out to be a stalker.
** ''MeMyselfAndIrene''
** ''FunWithDickAndJane''
* BusCrash: The reason he never appeared in sequels to the films he starred in, though he did star in the second ''Ace Ventura'' film.
* CatchPhrase - Many, especially as he became an A-list star.
** "Let me show ya somethin'!" (''In Living Color'')
** "Alrighty then!" (''AceVentura'')
** "Sssssssssssmokin'!" (''Film/TheMask'')
** "B-E-A-Utiful!" (''BruceAlmighty'')
** "[[TheLoneRanger Hi-ho Silver! Away!]]" (He says this in both ''Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls'' and ''Bruce Almighty'', despite playing a different character in each.)
** "And if I don't see ya - good afternoon, good evening, and good night!" (''The Truman Show'')
** ''Man on the Moon'' takes an askew glance at the trope. Latka, Andy Kaufman's ''Taxi'' character (adapted from his stage act), has "Tank you veddy much" as his catchphrase. The montage of his work on the show ends with several clips of him saying it presented in quick succession, implying that -- at least to Andy -- he isn't making progress as an artist despite his popularity and his character isn't much more than the catchphrase.
** In his first ''SaturdayNightLive'' appearance, he tries to do his opening monologue in character as an alien but ends up placating an unhappy "audience member" who just wanted to hear his catchphrases - namely the first three listed above.
* DeadpanSnarker: When he's not a LargeHam he's this. 
* FaceFault: He pulled it off ''in live action'' in the film ''Liar Liar''. After a long sequence of hiding from high-end executive types, he runs into the last person he wants to see, shouts ''"God in heaven!"'' and collapses to the ground.
** He is probably the only person who will ever be able to pull of a FaceFault without it looking totally forced/awkward/just kind of stupid. Also, CrowningMomentOfFunny.
* FakeAmerican: He's actually from Ontario, Canada, though he is a naturalized American with dual citizenship.
* HarpoDoesSomethingFunny: He cannot be scripted. He cannot be directed. He can only be aimed.
* HilariousOuttakes: ''Liar Liar'' and ''Bruce Almighty'' run them over their respective end credits (the latter has additional outtakes on its DVD), the ''Film/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas'' DVD has an outtakes reel as a bonus feature, and before any of those was the ''InLivingColor'' bloopers episode, where one montage focused just on him getting the giggles during various skits.
** Apprently there's about 2 hours worth of footage of him from FunWithDickAndJane torturing Jeff Garlin with a voice modifier. Though no footage has been released in full.
* LargeHam: He has a subheading under Film at the trope entry for a reason (and the first one, at that).
* NoIndoorVoice
* {{Slapstick}}: The modern master of the form. To the point where, during one scene in FunWithDickAndJane,where he fell to the ground accidentally, he turned it into a joke. This included catching himself an inch from slamming his face into the ground. 
* SlidingScaleOfAntiHeroes 
** Type I: Lloyd Christmas, Charlie, and Stanley Ipkiss.
** Type III: Ace Ventura.
** Type IV: The Mask and Dick.
** Type V: Hank.
* SmiteMeOhMightySmiter: He's was the one who said it in [[BruceAlmighty the movie]] that is the TropeNamer. [[Film/TheTrumanShow Twice.]]
* StandUpComedy
* StarMakingRole: Ace Ventura. And as luck would have it, immediately followed by the Mask and Lloyd, making him the first actor to headline three #1-opening movies in one year. And he did it in his first three movies as a mainstream lead actor. How about Star Making ''Year''?
* SweetDreamsFuel: His movies can put you in a good mood really quick.
* TricksterArchetype:
** Characters who qualify as this include Ace Ventura, the Mask, the Riddler, Andy Kaufman, and the Grinch. {{Word of God}} even said that the Frankie from ''OnePiece'' is based on him.
** On a similar note, a lot of [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender Sokka's]] facial expressions are based off Jim.
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24th Jan '13 7:06:58 PM JIKTV

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24th Jan '13 7:06:46 PM JIKTV

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21st Jan '13 5:18:39 AM Aquila89

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